The object of the present patent application is a Efficient Conversion Circuit for Power Supplies.
After a long and costly research and development effort, motivated by a significant industrial need, due to the lack of circuits such as the one described here in the world market, the aforementioned circuit has been invented, and demonstrates a number of fundamental advantages over present day circuits for the conversion of electrical energy existing now on the world market.
Those present day circuits are based on electronic configurations that do not permit them to achieve high conversion efficiency if not by a disproportionate increase in the size of the basic components.
This lack of efficiency is manifested in a loss of energy principally in the form of heat, being as well an essential cause of their low efficiency.
At the same time, and due to the configuration of said circuits, the output voltage and consequently the output current suffer a distortion of their normal waveform, characteristically in the form of ripple, undesirable and harmful for other circuits, both active and passive, to which the conversion circuit is connected.
The currently presented circuits are based on the direct conversion of supply circuits. Up until now, the conversion of energy is indirect and galvanic, i.e. from electrical to magnetic and again to electrical, by means of transformers. This transformation of energy galvanically puts a limit on the efficiency of their conversion that rarely surpasses 86%. Nevertheless, and due to the direct transformation of energy i.e. without the use of conventional transformers, that characterizes the present circuits, efficiencies above 90% can be achieved, nearing 97% power supply conversion efficiency in some cases.
The present patent application, as already mentioned constitutes a conversion circuit, i.e. a power supply, that can convert A.C. to D.C. and vice versa, being able to either increase or decrease the input voltage and automatically adjusting the output voltage to the requirements of the load connected.
As well, these circuits, producing a stabilized and regulated output, can be regulated either in voltage or current according to the application. This characteristic, with few modifications to the basic circuit, permits the application of this technology in high voltage, current regulated power supplies and in low voltage regulated power supplies.
The design of this present circuit is such that the regulated output of the circuit will remain regulated even with very wide variation of the input voltage. In current regulated configurations, the output voltage of the circuit is exactly that voltage required by the load to which it is connected. According to the multiplication that can be achieved, however the circuit will provide whatever voltage is required by the load up to this maximum. Therefore a power supply that generates an output voltage of 3000 volts can also be applied to loads that require 1000 volts, 500 volts, 100 volts, or even 1 volt without any modification whatsoever to the circuit. The circuit will continue to supply the preset or desired output current no matter what the output voltage is. To date, applicants know of no type of conventional power supply that can work in this way.
The present circuit is also designed to accept a great variation of its input voltage without this factor influencing the regulated value of the output, whether this be in voltage or in current.
The range of input voltages, according to the application of this circuit, can be very wide. For example, the described circuit can accept input voltages from 80 VAC to 280 VAC without this variation greatly influencing the regulation of the output voltage or current, maintaining this regulation very precisely, (less than 1% variation). This precision of regulation coupled with the wide range of input voltage is impossible with present day switch mode technology power supplies.
These circuits can incorporate switching isolation schemes, differentiating these from the galvanic isolation present in the great majority of power supplies. These switching isolation schemes have less losses than galvanic isolation, and the parasitic capacitance between input and output is superior in the majority of cases. The ohmic resistance may be similar, less or greater according to the application; however the most outstanding feature of this type of electrical isolation is its efficiency with relation to its parasitic capacitance between input and output.
The entire circuit is controlled, in terms of output voltage or current, digitally. This facilitates the control and variation of the functioning range of this type of power supply. It is equipped with an external connection so as to be able to control it externally by computer, if that is required.
Due to the numerous advantages that this circuit offers compared to other present day power supply circuits, its area of application is very wide.
It can be pointed out that this circuit offers advantages over current technology in the fields of power supplies for lasers, power supplies for computers, telecommunications, aeronautical and astronautical applications and electrical convertors of solar energy, only to name a few of the many applications that this type of power supply circuit has.
With this invention the functioning of many types of existing apparatus will be improved, and it will permit the realization of other applications previously unfeasible.
For a more detailed description of the invention, please refer to the accompanying schematics, which for sake of example and explanation, but without implyiny any limitations with reference to applications using the basic circuit, are represented here.